Spring-gun



(No'Mbdel w. H. ORAM.

SPRING'GUN.

11%. 501,765. Patented July 18;-1 893. I

v v, law gi INVENTOI? WITNESSES:-

ATTORNEYS.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM H. ORAM, OF PENAWAWA, WVASHINGTON.

SPRING-GUN.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 501,765, dated July 18,1893.

Application filed November 8, 1892- Serial No, 451,324- (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM H. CRAM, of Penawawa, in the county ofWhitman and State of Washington, have invented a new and ImprovedSpring-Gun, of which the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription.

My invention relates to improvements in that class of spring guns whichare adapted to be used in lieu of traps for the purpose of killing wildanimals, either to get rid of them or for their pelts or carcasses.

The object of my invention is to produce an extremely cheap and simpledevice which may be made in any necessary size, which is adapted to bebaited like an ordinary trap, and which when the bait is moved, willdischarge a cartridge so as to shoot the animal which is at work uponthe bait.

Afurther object of my invention is to construct the apparatus so that itmay be safely carried and easily loaded or unloaded.

To these ends, my invention consists in certain features of constructionand combinations of parts, which will be hereinafter described andclaimed.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part ofthis specification, in which similar figures of reference indicatecorresponding parts in all the views. 7

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the device embodying my invention. Fig.2 is a plan View of the same. Fig. 3 is a broken detail view, partly insection, showing the arrangement of the breech-block barrel and thelooking plate; and Fig. 4 is a vertical section on the line 44 in Fig.1.

The gun is provided with a suitable breech block 10, which is formedintegral with a stock 11, the latter being preferably composed ofparallel pieces united at the ends, although it may be solid if desired,and the stock has a depending leg 12, ata point near the breechblock,and at its rear end a similar but shorter leg 13, which is parallel withthe leg 12. These legs are thrust into the ground when the gun is set,and they serve to hold it perfectly steady so thatit will be in properposition to be discharged, and when discharged it will shoot accurately.1

The gun is provided with a detachable barrel 14, which has a reduced andthreaded end 15, adapted to be screwed into a threaded portion of thebreech-block 10. It will thus 7 be seen that a number of barrels maybeprovided, each of a different'caliber, so that the gun may be used forshooting very small or very large animals.

On the under side of the breech-block opposite the rear end of thebarrel, is alaterally-swinging locking plate 17, which is pivoted at onecorner and on one side, as shown at 18, so as to swing outwardly, asindicated by dotted lines in Fig. 4, and at the diagonally oppositeupper corner the plate is notched on the edge, as shown at 19, so as toengage a screw 19, which screws into the breech-block. The locking platealso rests in a notch 17" in the stock, (see Figs. 1 and 3,) andconsequently when in position it will be held rigidly in place. At thetop and near one edge the locking plate is provided with a thumb-piece20, which projects upward and enables it to be easily manipulated.

In the center of the locking plate is a slot 21, which registers withthe cartridge 16 in the barrel 14, and which is adapted to receive thestriking pin 22 of the hammer 23. The striking pin 22 has at its freeend and near one edge a projection 24, which is adapted to strike theprimer of the cartridge, and which when in the position shown in thedrawings, is adapted to strike the cartridge on the rim thus beingadapted for use in connection with a rim-fire cartridge, but by turningthe pin over, the projection 24 will be thrown to the center so as tostrike the primer of a centerfire cartridge. The striking pin extendsthrough the hammer and is flattened at one end, as shown at 22*, toenable it to be easily turned when necessary.

The hammer 23 swings in the stock and is provided with a flat surface26, which is adapted to strike against the locking plate 17-. It ispivoted in thestock, as shown at 27, and it has a shank 28 extendingbeneath the stock, which shank is notched, as shown at 28, so as toreceive one end of a spiral spring 29, which spring extends backward andis fastened at its rear end to the leg 13.

It will be seen that when the hammer is thrown back as indicated bydotted lines in Fig. 1, the spring 29 will be extended, and when thehammer is released the tension of the spring throws the upper end of theham IOC mer violently forward so as to cause the striking pin to strikethe cartridge with sufficient force to explode it. When loading the gunorcarrying it about, the spring 29 may be detached, thus limiting theliability'of the accidental discharge of the gun. The hammer is providednear its upper end and on one side with a thumb-piece 30, which enablesit to be easily pulled back against the tension of the spring 29.

To the rear end of the stock 11 is pivoted an upwardly-extending trigger31, which is pivoted at its lower end, as shown at 32, and in thefrontedge of the trigger is a notch 33 to engage a boss 34 on the upperend of the hammer. A connecting rod 35 extends forward from the upperend of the trigger, and

V is pivoted to the lowerportion of a tiltinglever 36, which is arrangedin a nearly vertical position, and is pivoted near the center, as shownat 37 on a supporting post 38, which extends upward from thebreech-block. To the upper end of the lever 36 is pivoted the bait rod38, which extends forward above the barrel 14, and'through a guide orkeeper 30 at the front end of the barrel. The forward end of the rod 38is bent downward and formed into a fork 40 to which the bait is secured,and this fork is arranged so as to come exactly opposite the free end ofthe barrel, but its diverging prongs permit a bullet when fired, to passbetween them and into the head of any creature which may be nibbling atthe bait.

The gun is operated as follows: The bait is secured to the fork 40, thelocking plate 17 swung to one side, the cartridge 16 inserted in thebarrel 14, the locking plate tipped back to position, the hammer 23pulled back, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1, and held by the trigger31, as already described. The legs of the gun are then pushed carefullyinto the ground so as to hold the barrel at the right height and pointthe muzzle in the right direction, or if desired, the legs may be pushedinto the ground before the gun is loaded and set. When anything movesthe bait on the fork 40, the rod 38 is pulled sufficiently to tilt thelever 36 and move the connecting rod 35, thus pushing back the trigger31 and freeing the hammer 23, which is forced forward by the spring 29and explodes the cartridge so that the bullet from the latter isdischarged through the barrel 14 and into the head of the creature whichis at the bait. It will be seen that by connecting the bait rod 38 tothe lower end instead of the upper end of the lever 36, the hammer willbe released by a push on the rod instead of by a pull.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent- 1. A spring gun comprising a supporting stock abreech loading barrel mounted thereon, a spring projected hammer 23pivoted in rear of the breech and having a firing pin, a

vertically extending trigger 31 pivoted at its lower end in rear of thehammer and having a notch 33 to receive the upperor free end of thehammer when cooked, a lever 36 pivoted between its ends to the stock, arod 35 connecting one end of the lever with the upper end of the trigger31, and a bait rod leading from the other end of the trigger to themuzzle of the barrel, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination with the hammer provided with a transverse openingthrough it from front to rear, of a rotary striking pin 22 extendingthrough said opening and provided at its front with a strikingprojection 24 and provided in rear of the hammer with a finger piece 22for turning it, substantially as set forth.

3. A spring gun, comprising a supporting stock having suitable legs, abreech-block carried by the stock, a detachable breech-loadin g barrelsecured to the breech-block, a hammer pivoted in the stock and havingadepending shank, the hammer being arranged to strike a cartridge in thebarrel, a spring secured to the hammer shank and to the rear portion ofthe stock, a swinging trigger pivoted in the stock and having a notch toengage the free end of the hammer, a lever pivoted on the breech-blockand having one end connected with the trigger, and a bait rod pivoted tothe outside end of the lever and extending forward in front of thebarrel where it terminates in a bait-holding fork, substantially asdescribed.

WILLIAM H. ORAM.

Witnesses:

O. G. CRAM, JOHN L. KEISER.

